02/15/2013

The Scratching Post free agent live blog

6:46: To recap GM Kent Austin signs three players to shore up the worst defence in the CFL (and two Canadians) on day one of free agency.

6:36: Ticats make McCollough official.

6:09: Hearing that the Ticats have signed Evan McCullough, formerly of the Argos. Played for new DC Orlondo Steinauer in Toronto.

4:51: Ticats make Bulcke and Wlliams signings official.

4:41: Former Ticats DB Marcell Young has signed in Edmonton.

4:11: Have confirmed the Ticats have signed Canadian defensive tackle Bulcke. Seems pretty clear that the Tabbies are looking to upgrade their Canadians - and maybe change their ratio – on the first day of free agency.

4:04: Dave Naylor of TSN is reporting that Calgary Stampeder defensive tackle Brian Bulcke is headed to the Ticats.

3:51: Looks like Tyrone Brackenridge is back with the Riders - another guy some thought might end up in Hamilton, though I wasn't one of them – and OL Javon Olafoye has returned to the Lions have failing a medical with the NFL's Browns.

3:18: Mike Hogan, radio voice of the Argos, says Argos have signed LB James Yurichuk while there are multiple reports that Elimimian has re-signed in B.C. Former Ticat Geoff Tisdale has signed in Montreal while former Alouette (and Ticat) Dwight Anderson has signed in Saskatchewan. And I think former Ticat OL Mark Dewit, dealt in the Burris trade, has signed with the Bombers.

2:39 p.m. This is from the Twitter account of Jeff Reinebold, Ticats special teams coordinator: "Free Agent Friday is better than Valentines Day when you can land ratio changers!...Ti - Cats are getting better today...hard work pays off."

1:33 p.m.: There are football hilights on Shomari Williams YouTube account (they're from college) but this is wayyyyyy more amusing. Shomari Williams, it would seem, has a sense of humour and the ability to laugh at himself.

1:24: Williams had 59 tackles, eight ST tackles last season, 16 ST tackles the year before. In other words, he can play teams, like all Canadians should.

1:19: Williams' Twitter account is @sho99_. He has over 4,300 followers, a lot by CFL standards (he played in Saskatchewan but still.) Based on a cursory glance, he's a thoughtful, politically-minded guy: it ain't all about football.

1:16: From the Twitter account of Canadian receiver SamGiguere: "Yesss! Lennoxville's finest!"

1:10 p.m.: This Tweet from Riders radio man Jamie Nye: Shomari made tackles last year, but missed a lot as well. Moving him to DE was a mistake... having to add and subtract weight didn't help.

1:04 p.m.: Not that I would ever doubt Duane, but my sources have confirmed that Williams is indeed a Ticat.

1:01 p.m.: Accoding to Duane Forde at TSN, the Ticats have signed Canadian linebacker Shomari Williams.

12:07: The Eskimos have signed DE Odell Willis. The Ticats were never interested, according to my sources. Current DEs Greg Peach (6 sacks) and Brandon Boudreaux (5) had similar production to Willis (6). And Willis had eight offside penalties and 15 total in 2012.

Noon: Free agency is open....

11:36 a.m: TSN's Dave Naylor is reporting that LB Solomon Elimimian is now looking to sign a CFL deal, not an NFL one. He's an impact player, for sure.

11:30 a.m.: couple of quick notes before noon hits:

• the Alouettes have re-signed import cornerback Seth Williams, non-import fullback Dahrran Diedrick as well as import defensive tackle Moton Hopkin. Williams might have been a Ticat target and the Gazette's Herb Zurkowsky reported this morning that the Ticats might be interested in Diedrick.

• Kirk Penton at the Winnipeg Sun has done a nifty breakdown of the available free agents and where they might go based on "educated guesses made by a handful of CFL executives." According to Penton, possible Ticat targets include the following (my thoughts in parenthesis):

DE Ricky Foley (I don't think so.)DB Evan McCollough (yes)LB James Yurichuk (yes)LB Shomari WilliamsLB Tyron Brackenridge (plays the same spot as Markeith Knowlton.)DT Brian Bulcke (yes)OL Dylan Steenbergen (maybe, if they are going to four or more non-import lineman)

Not sure that signing Williams would indicate an impending trade of our trio of LBs. Maybe it is more looking to the future with Plesius and Gascon-Nadon hopefully both coming on board this season as well as adding quality depth. He is obviously seen as being a better player than the FA LBs who have not been re-signed by the Ticats.

It will be interesting to see if they go after Elimimian and/or McCullough or manage to sign them and if they will go after an experienced QB.

Hard to say what the Ti-Cats have in mind, but Williams may be ready for a larger role. 59 tackles is good production for what he was asked to do in Sask.

Was at first confused by Giguere's tweet about Lennoxville, as Williams is a Toronto boy who went to Queens (Houston before that)... but he spent a couple years at a prep school in Quebec before university.